FAQ’s

Why does each student need his or her own account? What’s included for siblings?

Each child works at his or her own level. Let’s say you have 3 children, ages 5, 7, and 16. Your 5-year-old will be working on foundational, developmental skills and your 7-year-old will work on more intermediate skills. Your 16-year-old will focus on skills that will prepare for life as an adult – financial literacy, automotive repair, driving and overall readiness to enter adulthood.

As they work and accomplish each task, they will earn Nuggets. Each child needs their own Nugget Board. Nuggets are their awards and currency in the store.

Skill Trek is so customizable, you could even have two children the same age working on different levels. A level will take approximately a year to complete.

How many lessons are available? Is there a limit as to how many skills my Trekker can learn?

Trailblazers (the youngest) have 3 core skill lessons in a period or 24 a year.

Rockhoppers (tweens) have 4 core skill lessons in a period or 32 a year.

Cragsman (the oldest) have 4 core skill lessons in a period or 32 a year.

A parent can also add Legacy Skills and Bonus Skills.

Each level has different skills and a different number of skills in its library. Feel free to add as many skills as you’d like for your Trekker to work through. Younger levels will have fewer skills in their library compared to older levels.

Are all levels accessible in a membership?

Memberships are based on families using the curriculum, not their ages. Once registered, and based on our guidelines, you should start your children at the level you think they are ready for.

What are Nuggets? Do parents award the Nuggets? And how do the Trekkers use them in the store?

Nuggets are rewards and currency! Each new skill your child learns results in earning a Nugget. The Nuggets auto-populate on the child’s Nugget board. It’s not one more thing for Mom to do.

The store will offer a variety of things and will grow with time. Right now, we’re expecting to offer tote-bags, mugs, t-shirts, gift cards, posters, activity pages, and more.

Can my preschooler participate?

We designed Skill Trek for children who are about 5 and older. Some preschoolers aren’t quite ready for SkillTrek and some are.

The preschoolers/Kers are working through Level A and there are several bonus skills for them to choose from. Some are going to move more quickly than others. Some will need extra time and may even repeat the Level A year.

I noticed your Family Plan will accommodate up to 8 Trekkers. We have more than 8 we want to enroll. What do we do?

If you have more than 8 children in your immediate family, please send us an e-mail at info@skilltrekker.com

Do you have a list of all the lessons/skills that are currently part of this program at each age level?

There are 500+ skills (and counting) in our program. For copyright reasons, we are unable to release a full list of all the skills. However, visit our demo page where you will see some sample lessons. Remember that Skill Trek is customizable so the exact skills your Trekker will cover may differ.

Am I able to preview each lesson before my child does?

We designed a Parent Portal so that when you click on the next skill, you can have a quick glance at the skill to see if it’s something you want your child to cover.

Does the curriculum come with a list of material needed?

We don’t have a master supply list right now, but we’re working on it!

As for the lessons, we designed these to be simple and easy with things that are either around the house or usually commonplace at a friend’s. We also tried to make the lessons as at-a-glance as possible for the parents. There’s a short description and we made the “Earn Your Nugget” section as clear and concise as possible so parents won’t feel burdened. We found most of our supplies around the house, at a friend’s house, and at our local thrift shops.

Each lesson takes about 1.5 to 2 weeks to complete, depending on the level. Much of that time is simply having a chance to get the hang of something so it’s not a one-time event, and they can earn their Nugget (the currency they can use towards things in the store), so you won’t feel bombarded trying to locate supplies and materials.

When we do create supply lists, they will be a small attachment to the lesson sheet. Our lists won’t look similar to other curriculum providers who provide a list for a week at a glance because the program is customizable.

So if a child isn’t developmentally ready for a certain skill, the parent can swap it out for a new one in the system. Each family will have their own unique list of assignments to complete.

Is there a lifetime membership?

Yes! Visit our sales page for more information.

What if my child isn’t developmentally ready for the skill that’s assigned to him or her?

No problem, as parents we understand how important it is to be flexible and to provide a customizable program. If a child isn’t ready for a specific skill, the parent can log into the Parent Portal and add/remove skills as they want.

What science/research went into assigning skills to specific ages?

In our intro video, we mention what the different ages are learning. This is only an example of how it may look if one has several children working through the program.

There are 500+ skills that have been assigned to a large age range, based on what we’ve learned and experienced as parents, as well as talking with other families.

On the actual assignments, there are no ages listed. The Trekkers work through Levels but may be placed at specific levels, depending on development.

For example, an older Trailblazer (around age 5 through 8 or 9) may begin at Level E, but the parent can place them at Level A. Skill Trek is designed to be developmentally-based and allows each individual child to work at his or her developmental level.

Is this a printable or workbook?

Skill Trek is a premium, hands-on software curriculum, complete with multi-media lessons. Lessons are printable, but only if you want to print them. Otherwise, everything is managed online for you.

I have a High School aged student. Can Skill Trek be used towards high-school credit?

First off, always check the laws in your state, but you could use the lessons towards elective credits, such as Agriculture, Home Ec., Recreation/PE, Shop, Woodworking, Personal Finance, etc. Ultimately it’s the parents’ responsibility to track hours, but yes, Skill Trek can be used as a springboard towards credits. Please note that Skill Trek is not an accredited program.

Is Skill Trek a Complete Curriculum?

As written, Skill Trek is designed to be a supplemental curriculum, but this also depends on your homeschooling method. If you follow a traditional curriculum, then it will likely be more supplemental. If you follow a hands-on, more relaxed approach to education, then you could take the lessons and expand them to include hands-on math, hands-on science, nature study, notebooking, copywork, and more. We’ve noticed great opportunities to allow for organic learning and a holistic approach to education.

Is Skill Trek a secular or religious curriculum?

There are a few religion assignments in the bonus section, and it’s up to each family to decide which lessons they want to assign. Most of these give a brief overview of various religions for the family to use as a springboard for discussion. These are included so that when graduates meet people of various faiths, they’re familiar with their backgrounds.

Other religious assignment examples include how to use a concordance and doing an inductive Bible study.

My child knows all of the skills at the level we selected. What do I do?

Feel free to go up a level! You can make this change in the Parent Portal by removing the child and re-adding them, selecting the next level up.